It’s Hot Stove season and that means there are plenty of rumors and speculation floating around. Some baseless, some not.

Yesterday, metsblog.com, citing anonymous sources, posted an entry stating the Mets have had “internal discussions” about Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun. That is probably true. The Mets, like the other 29 teams, discuss hundreds of players during the offseason.

But the report morphed into something more — that the Mets could land Braun in a trade, which the blogger never actually wrote. That didn’t stop the Internet from exploding about Braun possibly joining the Mets. Consequently, a few reporters followed up and wrote that the Brewers are not shopping Braun.

One was FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal, who spoke to Brewers general manager Doug Melvin today and tweeted the following: #Brewers GM Doug Melvin: “Absolutely nothing” to talk of Braun to #Mets. “Our intentions are not to trade him.” Braun has partial no-trade.

So there’s that.

Of course, the Mets could use the 30-year-old Braun. He’s a power-hitting corner outfielder, which is exactly what the Mets covet right now. They’ve also not been reluctant to sign players with previous drug suspensions — Braun was suspended for the final 65 games of the 2013 season for his connection to Biogenesis and his subsequent denials.

Additionally, Melvin has publicly acknowledged that his club seeks a first baseman and that a trade with the Mets — for either Ike Davis or Lucas Duda — is a possibility. But the Mets would need to package more than just one of those first basemen to land Braun, who is owed $10 million in 2014 and $113 million through the 2020 season.

Despite the drug talk swirling and a serious thumb injury in 2013, Braun slashed .298/.372/.498 with nine home runs and 14 doubles in 61 games.

He was the National League MVP in 2011, when he posted a league-leading 41 home runs and .987 on-base-plus-slugging percentage. He finished second in the voting in 2012 and third in 2008.

The Star-Ledger has reached out to the Mets for comment on Braun and if there’s anything substantive to the Mets pursuing Braun we’ll let you know.